"How are we doing, Chief?""We have True Wisdom, Divine Speed, and Maximum Justice." "What does that mean?" Trent opened his eyes and looked at her. "We are, this fine diurnal period-" "Morning." "-kicking serious ass. We are green across the board. The system likes me a lot. And I am awful damn fond of it, too. We have Total Mutual Respect and Admiration." Melissa looked amused despite herself. "You computerists are such . . . such . . ." "Nerds," Trent said. "I think that's the word you're looking for." "You are not a nerd," said Melissa. Trent laughed. "Of course I am. You think anyone spends the tens of thousands of hours I've spent doing work like this unless they love it?" Trent looked at the board, green all the way across, and grinned again. "I'm a nerd and you bet I love what I do. I am so damn good at it." -- Daniel Keys Moran "Players: The A.I. War"